‘I saw a person die in front of me’: Pablo Mari ‘lucky’ to be alive after fatal Milan attack

The Arsenal defender has undergone surgery and is now recovering in hospital after being stabbed in the back

Arsenal defender Pablo Mari said he is lucky to be alive after being stabbed in a fatal supermarket attack in Milan.

Mari, who is on a season-long loan at Italian club Monza, is now recovering in hospital after he escaped serious injury when he was stabbed in the back.

Local reports claiming one of five victims – said to be an employee of the Carrefour supermarket – has died.

Mari had been shopping with his wife and son – who was in a trolley – when he felt a pain in his back before seeing the attacker, later identified as a 46-year-old man and arrested by police, stab another person in the throat. Local reports say any terrorist motive for the attack has been ruled out.

Quoted in the Gazzetta dello Sport, Mari said: “Today I was lucky, because I saw a person die in front of me.”

In a statement on Friday, Monza said Mari had undergone surgery and the defender is expected to be sidelined for two months.

“The specialists of the General Surgery-Trauma Team of the Niguarda Hospital in Milan carried out this morning the surgery to reconstruct the two injured muscles on Pablo Marí’s back,” the team said.

“The surgery went well and a hospital stay of two or three days is expected.”

Monza president Adriano Galliani, who visited Mari along with the Serie A side’s head coach Raffaele Palladino, told Gazzetta on Thursday: “Pablo is an amazing guy. He had the strength to joke and tell me that he will be back in training on Monday. I brought him greetings from (club president Silvio) Berlusconi and everyone else. His team-mates wanted to come here but obviously it was not possible.”

Speaking further about the attack, Galliani added: “It is shocking news. My thoughts are with the families – what happened today seems impossible for a city like Milan. It can’t be possible that someone gets up in the morning to go to work and then loses their life because of the actions of a criminal.”

Mari joined Arsenal from Brazilian side Flamengo in January 2020 and played 19 times for the Gunners before heading to Italy on loan in August.

In a statement issued shortly after their 2-0 Europa League defeat at PSV Eindhoven on Thursday night, Arsenal gave an update on Mari’s condition.

“We are all shocked to hear the dreadful news about the stabbing in Italy, which has put a number of people in hospital including our on-loan centre-back Pablo Mari,” it read.

“We have been in contact with Pablo’s agent who has told us he’s in hospital and is not seriously hurt. Our thoughts are with Pablo and the other victims of this dreadful incident.”

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta, in his post-match press conference, added: “I just found out. I know (technical director) Edu has been in touch with his relatives. He’s in hospital but he seems to be OK.”

Monza have also asked for Monday’s match against Bologna to be postponed following the attack.